Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology Volume 2
- The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Part I Methods
- Part II Embodied Environmental Sociology
- Part III Beyond the Human
- Part IV Sustainability and Climate Change
- 12 Possibilities and Politics in Imagining Degrowth
- 13 Sustainable Consumption
- 14 Sustainability Cultures: Exploring the Relationships Between Cultural Attributes and Sustainability Outcomes
- 15 Socio-Ecological Sustainability and New Forms of Governance: Community Forestry and Citizen Involvement with Trees, Woods, and Forests
- 16 Carbon Markets and International Environmental Governance
- 17 The Multi-Level Governance Challenge of Climate Change in Brazil
- Part V Resources
- Part VI Food and Agriculture
- Part VII Social Movements
- Index
- References
14 - Sustainability Cultures: Exploring the Relationships Between Cultural Attributes and Sustainability Outcomes
from Part IV - Sustainability and Climate Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2020
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology Volume 2
- The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Part I Methods
- Part II Embodied Environmental Sociology
- Part III Beyond the Human
- Part IV Sustainability and Climate Change
- 12 Possibilities and Politics in Imagining Degrowth
- 13 Sustainable Consumption
- 14 Sustainability Cultures: Exploring the Relationships Between Cultural Attributes and Sustainability Outcomes
- 15 Socio-Ecological Sustainability and New Forms of Governance: Community Forestry and Citizen Involvement with Trees, Woods, and Forests
- 16 Carbon Markets and International Environmental Governance
- 17 The Multi-Level Governance Challenge of Climate Change in Brazil
- Part V Resources
- Part VI Food and Agriculture
- Part VII Social Movements
- Index
- References
Summary
Unsustainable behaviour is often blamed on the ‘culture’ of organisations, businesses or households. In this chapter I unpick what culture means in the context of sustainability, and in particular how it can underpin resistance to change or alternatively can be a dynamic and creative force for more sustainable outcomes. The concept of ‘sustainability cultures’ outlined in this chapter offers a structured way of thinking about and investigating culture. It has been applied in a wide variety of situations to help explore cultural attributes that shape outcomes such as energy use and mobility choices by households, businesses and organisations. The chapter also discusses and exemplifies how cultures are both shaped and constrained by exogenous factors which may constrain or facilitate cultural change. This kind of analysis can assist in identifying policy interventions which can remove barriers or support latent potential for cultural change. Seen in sustainability terms, culture is not a bystander, but a core driver of outcomes that are critical to long-term human survival.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology , pp. 236 - 248Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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